Although Asians are the largest minority group at the University, making up approximately 12 percent of the student population, many students and faculty say they are oftentimes marginalized in the typical dichotomy of black and white race relations.

Coinciding with Asian-Pacific-American Heritage Month and Take Back the Night, two facebook groups about Asian women have had attention called to them by various students. One group was formerly called "Americans for the Increased Importation of Asian Women" and the second was titled "People for the Propagation of Asian Fetish."

Although many people have said they considered the groups to be racist and were offended and disturbed, some others have said the groups are harmless, because they represent only a small online population that is not actively harming the Asian community.

"I understand how it can be offensive to Asian Americans as well as other people On-Grounds," Maryann Lee, a first-year College student and member of "Americans for the Increased Importation of Asian Women," said.

She said her boyfriend created this group on facebook as a response to the second group and his intentions were to celebrate the positive aspects of Asian women.

"I just think that there is a certain distinction between when jokes are taken too far and when some things can be said in jest," Lee said.

Lee said she feels that her group was blown out of proportion and added that she sees a problem when all facebook groups are taken seriously.

"When something that is intended sarcastically or tongue-in-cheek can be manipulated to be something offensive, it is very negative on the community as well as to the people who did not have these intentions," Lee said.

Yet Asian student leaders said racially charged incidents against Asian students are taking place on a daily basis at the University and often ignored.

Asian Student Union President Drew Austria said he personally knows of three recent racial incidents against Asian students.

"A male Asian student was called a 'towelhead' and 'Osama' on 14th Street, two Asian students were called 'yao ming' and 'chink' outside a bar on the Corner, and a Filipino male walking down the hallway at Brown College was suspected of being the serial rapist, because he is dark skinned and was wearing black," Austria said.

Daisy Rodriguez, assistant dean for Asian and Asian-Pacific-American students, said she is aware of a number of occasions in which South Asian students wearing turbans as a symbol of their Sikh religion have been called "terrorists" or "Osama bin Laden."

Rodriguez said the general University community does not put Asian-American insults, such as "chinks," on the same level as African-American insults like "the n-word," because students commonly lack knowledge of the historical context in which the racial slurs were derived.

She said both terms are demeaning references to a group of people that minimizes their place in society.

Because the recent incidents of racial intolerance towards Asians were made informally, the victims chose to walk away from the situation and not to pursue it any further, Austria said.

"I'm sure that there are more incidents that are happening, but for whatever reason the Asian students are not sharing or reporting it," Rodriguez said.

Doug Lee, the outgoing Co-Chair of Peer Advising and Family Network, a program designed to connect incoming Asian-Pacific-American students with upper-classmen, said he attributes the silence about racial incidents against Asians to the general climate of apathy within the University community in regards to issues that do not involve black or white students.

"Every minority group gets discriminated in one way or another, but sometimes there is no adequate response when it happens to Asian students," Lee said.

Austria concurred with Lee's sentiments.

"I think that when it comes to issues of discrimination involving Asian Americans, they are often times overlooked or not given enough resources because diversity is seen as black and white," he said.

Rodriguez also said that the racial discourse at the University tends to have a black and white dynamic because it is easy to buy into the fact that Asian students are not discriminated against.

Many Asian students expressed the need for a centralized location where they can go to report racial incidents.

Assistant College Dean Beverly Adams said there is no way to quantify whether the number of racial incidents have increased or decreased in comparison to the past because there is no central way of reporting them to the University.

Adams, however, said a committee consisting of faculty, staff and a student representative was formed in January and is developing a way to provide students with a formal location to report racial incidents.

"Oftentimes, I think that students just do not know where to go and who to talk to or are afraid that they may be perceived as too sensitive or overreacting," Adams said.

Adams added that she has the sense that African-American students feel that their voice will be heard if they speak while Asian students may not feel that way.

Rodriguez said that although racial incidents against Asian students are not being reported in the same number as racial incidents against African- American students, she would respond to them in much the same way when they are reported to her.

She said it is important for Asian students to report every incident because the administration needs to be aware that these things are happening at the University in order to be responsive.

Racism, Sexism and Fetishism

LAST WEEK marked a week of awareness for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence with Take Back the Night programs at the University. Even as we saw support for these events, we are still harshly reminded of the reality of pervasive sexism and racism in our community. It has become obvious that even as we try to raise awareness segments of our population are still propagating views that continue to marginalize, stereotype and sexualize women of Asian descent. These are incidences that further affirm the lack of racial awareness beyond black and white at the University.

Oftentimes, racial awareness and education centers around the issues surrounding the black and white communities. The Asian community is glaringly left out of this discourse, as are Latinos/Hispanics and other ethnic minorities. Racial incidences against Asian-Americans do occur; this is proven by the disheartening situation of University Facebook groups, such as the formerly named "Americans for the Increased Importation of Asian Women" and the group "People for the Propagation of Asian Fetish."

The latter of the two self-describes its purpose as "to bang out asians. Bang hard or go home. Yes, even the ugly bitches." Additionally, in the most current announcement, they say, "People say we are sick. People say our parents must have touched us when we were little. But I can't help it if my dick likes the taste of Teriyaki sauce. Or soy. Or duck for that matter. And when I'm feeling a little risky, wasabi."

In the past, other listings have included not only objectification of Asian women based on physicality alone, but also trivialized our bodies as mere commodities that function purely for sexual gratification. For example, in a former listing, a group placed a picture of an Asian woman with the caption, "Made in China.Size: Small.Wrinkle Resistant." This at once stereotypes, essentializes and provides insight into the ignorant views that plague members of our community. Views such as these detract from the idea of women as complete individuals in possession of our humanity and simultaneously insult the dignity of all women, but especially Asian women.

Any time people are referred to as "imports," it reduces them to the status of objects or things. They become possessions that can be easily traded, bought and sold, reminiscent of the history of slavery and the current increase of illegal sex trafficking. The invocation of such imagery specifically targets phenotypically Asian women and places them in a context of powerlessness and discrimination rooted in racism and sexism. This blatant racism and sexism is an unacceptable message for a university of our caliber to be sending to our students as well as to our peer institutions.

The fact that there are students here who started and joined these groups showcases the significant lack of awareness, sensitivity and education to issues of racism and sexism at the University, or an indifference toward them. As proud Asian-American women, we feel trivialized and dehumanized based on this stereotyping of our gender and race. Further, as women, we are insulted and infuriated that men in our day would still hold such regressive views -- and even more so, we feel betrayed by the fact that other women who have joined such groups are perpetuating the ideologies that discriminate against our gender. The idea that women are objects solely for the pleasure and gratification of men should not be tolerated, especially at the University, which prides itself on its progress in matters of race and gender.

This is only one incident in a string of racist and sexist acts committed against Asian-Americans on campus. We are forever thought of as foreigners or exoticized commodities who are left out of dominant racial dialogues. By speaking out, we hope to break the silence, both within our own community and to effect change with the greater community.

Chu is a second-year student in the College and a Student Council representative. Chen is a second-year College student and the incoming vice president for administration of the Asian Student Union.